NCAA pushes back NBA Draft declaration date to 10 days after NBA Combine

Finally, an NCAA decision we can applaud! The NCAA just announced it is pushing back the date by which men’s basketball players must remove their names from the NBA Draft to ten days after the conclusion of the NBA Draft Combine. This means players can go through the Combine/evaluation process in depth before deciding whether or not they want to return to school, a very positive development.

Also big: the Division I Council also ruled players may also enter the NBA Draft multiple times without jeopardizing their eligibility and can participate in the NBA Draft Combine and one tryout per NBA team per year. Again, this will help players make better decisions about whether or not they want to return to school or enter the Draft, a pretty huge thing for a program like Kentucky.

In the past, the NBA underclassman eligibility deadline was a week or so after the Championship in April. With the 2016 NBA Draft Combine scheduled for May 11-15, this means the new declaration deadline will be May 25. Right now, the Spring Signing Period for recruits ends on May 18, meaning there’s still a week between when recruits must sign their letters of intent to when current college players must decide whether or not they’re going pro. That’s a big gap, and could be an issue with players who want to see who’s going to the pros before making their decisions. Hopefully the NCAA pushes that date back as well, but that might be too much logic to ask for at once.